We recently had the opportunity to speak with Neither Scene Nor Herd vocalist/guitarist, Max Puhala, and ask him his opinion on the ever-evolving industry issue commonly known as illegal downloading. With the help of the internet, downloading music has become easier than taking a shower (not to mention more common). Max gave us a very interesting stance on the matter, which only helps exemplify his band’s view as well.

Yes, I do it, and it’s not really something I’m afraid to hide. I’ve discovered some of my favorite bands ever (which I otherwise never would have heard of) all because I decided to download their albums off of Mediafire. There is a ridiculous amount of available music in the world, so much that I could never get to all of it, even if I devoted my entire life to it, and illegal downloading is an easy way to make a dent in the vast worldwide library of music. I generally use it as a way of pre-screening an artist. If I like it, I’ll buy the album or go to a show. But of course, I can’t pay for everything I “screen.” So if I can’t afford to buy an album, I can always recommend it to a friend, and I think that’s worth just as much as any amount of money. As a fellow musician, I couldn’t care less about money. The fact that someone would choose to devote some of their time to my music, given the ridiculous amount of it available in the world, is enough for me.